Secrets, Lies and Broken Ties
by Lily-Rose Writes
Summary: It was 1983 and three sisters were playing in a San Francisco park. When one of them panicked, it revealed something that mysteriously connected with them. (Any chapters linked to this one are separate incidents and do not necessarily come together as a "back-to-back" timeline.) Please leave a review if you have any ideas you'd like me to consider or if you've got any feedback :)
1. Park Connection

**Part One:**

It was 1983 in a park in San Francisco; 13 year old Prue was playing with 10 year old Piper and 8 year old Phoebe. Prue was chilling out on the swings while Piper was people-pleasing by pandering to Prue's demands.

"I want an ice cream, Piper!"

"Oh, um…. I have no money, Prue, and I need to stop Phoebe running round crazily."

Phoebe was skipping around the playground with her eyes closed, so she ended up bumping into a boy holding an ice cream. Piper panicked, her arms shot up and she froze the scene. Phoebe fell onto her knees and the ice cream had slid off the cone and was stuck only a few inches from her face.

"PIPER!" Prue yelled. "Grams told us to be super careful because the binding spell she used was temporary until she decides if it's the best thing for us and use a full-power binding spell and erase our memories of ever having magic."

"I know, Prue, I know! I just couldn't help it. Please, just help me fix it; cars are still going by and someone will notice."

"Chill out, Piper. No big deal; it's kind of cool because this ice cream nearly hit me" Phoebe said, crawling out from under the snack.

"No, you're going to stay there so Piper can unfreeze the playground…. Go on, lie back down and let that ice cream fall on your face, that's why you need to not be so reckless." Prue stood up, put her hands on Piper's shoulders and turned her around. "Calm down, relax your arms and un-"

"Wait!" Phoebe exclaimed while shuffling to align herself with the ice cream. "That girl over there – the one with the dark hair and pale skin – she looks about 5 or 6 but she never froze. Doesn't that mean she's one of us?"

"Phoebe, don't be silly; she probably just came over from across the road. Now let's turn it-"

"Phoebe may have a point, Prue; I saw her over there with those two people sitting on the bench just before I panicked. Then again, if she was a witch too, at least one of her parents wouldn't be frozen. Right?"

"Unless she was adopted, but that's not our concern. C'mon, hurry up. Unfreeze it now; we're leaving!"

Piper was flustered and started waving her arms about, but she managed to unfreeze the scene. Phoebe winced as the ice cream dropped onto her face and the boy looked at her awkwardly.

"I'm so sorry" he gushed. "I…. I didn't mean-"

"Don't worry; I had it coming for some time" Phoebe joked. He just stared at her, confused.

"Phoebs, come on. Let's go" Prue called.

As the three sisters walked off towards their street, they looked over their shoulders and saw the little girl running to her parents. She stopped and all of their eyes met. It was then, when the girl's parents called her name, that they heard something that sounded like it should mean something to them….


	2. Phizz Kitty

**Part Two:**

A young boy, Prue's age, knocked on the door of the manor. He looked at his watch and knocked on the door again. He started scuffing his white trainers against the concrete. The door opened a crack and a small face appeared, then grinned.

"AAAANNNNDDDDYYYY!"

"Well, if it isn't little Phizz. Well, you gunna give me a hug or not?" he opened his arms and Phoebe squeezed him. She grabbed his hand and started dragging him through the house and he was struggling to stay on his feet. Phoebe stopped in the kitchen because Prue was there with Grams.

"Oh, Andy, aren't you looking smart?" Grams remarked, looking him up and down. He was wearing blue jeans, a pale shirt and a brown suit jacket. "Going somewhere Prue?" Grams turned her head to raise her eyebrows at Prue. Prue smiled coyly and started picking it her cuticles.

"Well, Ms Halliwell, I would like to go to the café down the road with Prue, if that's alright?"

"First of all Andy, I've known you since you were in diapers, so please call me Penny or Grams. As for this date-"

"Grams!"

"Oh shush, Prue. Yes, that's okay, Andy, but only if you take whatever it is to go and come back here because Piper and Prue have a project I set them to work on."

Andy smiled, nodded and walked with Prue out of the manor. Phoebe jumped up on to a stool next to Grams to see into the pot on the counter.

"Whatcha cookin', Grams?"

"Stew. Now, Darling, you must get down – it's not safe. Go and tell your sister that I need her to ask John next door if he got our morning paper for us." Phoebe hopped sown and ran out of the kitchen. Grams opened the door to the basement and closed it behind her. Phoebe peered round the kitchen door frame and snuck in. She climbed onto the counter and stuck her finger in the stew. She immediately pulled her arm back.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!" She flapped her hand around and picked up the ladle. She blew on it and took a small sip. It tasted bitter and with a sharp lemony aftertaste. She winced as she got down, walked out of the kitchen and headed up the stairs.

"Piiiiiiiperrrrr?" she called. "Piiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiperrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr?" She knocked on Piper's door and pushed it open. Piper was sitting on the floor, drawing in her notebook.

"What is it Phoebs?" She looked up and gasped. "Oh my God! Phoebe, what did you do?!"

"What d'you mean?" She looked around and Piper pointed to her bottom. When Phoebe looked at her backside, she saw a brown and white cat's tail developing. Then, when she scratched her head, she felt furry ears sprout. Piper jumped up and Phoebe began shrinking and ended up on all fours.

Piper's eyes widened in shock. She began yelling for Grams, but Phoebe hissed at her. "What?" Piper whispered. Phoebe strutted over to a picture of Prue, tried to jump on the desk but she slipped. "Guess jumping doesn't come naturally, does it Phoebe?" She giggled quietly, but Phoebe shot her a furry scowl. "Right, sorry. You want us to find Prue?" Phoebe bowed her head. "Well, Grams can't find out about this, so I'll distract her and you find a way to get Prue back here to fix this."

Piper and Phoebe ran downstairs and Piper opened the manor door to let Phoebe out. She pushed it to but didn't shut it completely. She went to find Grams in the living room.

"Piper, have you gone to John's yet?" Piper stood there, one eyebrow raised, with a look of extreme confusion on her face. "The paper, Piper. The Paper?"

"Oh, right. Yeah, sure, Grams; I'll get you one later." Grams looked suspicious, so Piper sat next to her, tapping her fingers on the sofa.

Phoebe had been trotting along the street, ignoring the people whistling to get her attention and calling "Kitty! Here, Kitty!" She spotted Prue and Andy coming out of the café with smoothies.

"Prue!" she screamed, slaloming through the crowd. "Prue! Prue! Coming through! PRUUUUUUUEEEEE!" She swerved a child on a scooter and stopped at Prue's feet. "Prue! You've got to help me; it's Phoebe!" Prue and Andy looked at each other and when Phoebe scanned her surroundings, she saw that everyone was staring at her as they walked by.

"Um, do you know this cat, Prue? He seems to know you…."

"SHE!" Phoebe exclaimed angrily.

"No idea. He seems a bit rabid, don't you think? Wailing like crazy." Phoebe frowned; she hadn't realised that nobody could understand her and the whole time she'd been making no sense to anyone. She ran back home to get Piper's help.

When she got to the manor, the door was shut. She scratched frantically and a little girl scooped her up and knocked on the door while her mother waited at the bottom of the steps.

Grams got up to get it, but Piper thought it was Prue so she grabbed Grams' arm and tugged it gently. "No, no, no, no, no; I'll get it."

"Piper, you're acting very strangely today, let go of me so that I can answer the door."

"But-"

"Piper, let go." Grams pulled away and walked to the front door with Piper trailing closely behind her. She turned the handle just as Prue and Andy were walking up the path. When Grams saw the little girl, she was taken back. It was like she recognised her, but she didn't say anything.

"Is that your cat? He made a scene outside the café" Prue asked the girl as she and Andy crossed the threshold.

"No, Mommy and I just saw Kitty scratching at your door. I wanted to give Kitty back to you."

"We don't own a-"

"Yes we do Prue, thanks" Piper gestured to the little girl to hand over Phoebe.

"Piper, that is not-"

"Her name is Phoebe, she's like family to us." She nodded to Prue and Prue's eyes widened in shock as she came to the realisation of what was going on. "Thanks again for finding her."

They all said their goodbyes and Grams closed the door.

"Conference. Kitchen. Now." Grams pointed to the kitchen and all of the children trooped in with Phoebe slumping in after them.

"If I've got this right, Phoebe is a cat now?" Andy said.

"I believe so, Master Trudeau. This means I need a word with my girls. Piper, if you don't mind." Piper bit her lip and apologised "Sorry Andy."

"For wha-" Piper froze him.

"I can't believe I leave for half an hour and you both mess things up."

"I didn't do anything! You always blame us and act like you're perfect." They started squabbling.

"Girls…. GIRLS! Stop that silly behaviour now! Piper, what happened?"

"Well, I don't really know."

"Typical!"

"Prue! Continue Piper."

"All I know is that Phoebs came up to tell me something but I saw her grow a tail and ears then, in an instant, she ended up like that" she pointed to the cat sitting on the counter.

"Off!" Grams demanded. It startled Phoebe, but she immediately jumped down. "Well, it'll wear off any time now because it was only a temporary potion. I suppose I could speed it up." She thought for a second and clicked her fingers. In a flash of light, Phoebe morphed back into herself.

"You told me it was stew!" Grams shot her a disapproving look. "Sorry, Grams. Hey Piper, wasn't that the girl from the park?"

"You know her?" Grams asked, trying to hide her angst.

"Not really, we just saw her at the park last week and she didn't fr-"

"Phoebe!" Prue snapped and Phoebe covered her mouth.

"Well, try to keep your distance." All three girls had very confused expressions spread across their faces. Did Grams know something they didn't?


	3. Blackbird

**Part Three**

Shock. Disbelief. Denial. Anger. Sadness. Desperation. All of those emotions ambushed Prue and Grams instantaneously. They frantically searched the manor. Pulling out draws. Throwing cushions off of the sofa. Digging through boxes in the attic. Rummaging in wardrobes. They were completely baffled and Grams was going to have to make a decision she feared may cause irreparable damage to the girls' futures. She knew that she had no choice but to jeopardise everything.

Two hours earlier, Piper and Phoebe were getting off of the San Francisco tram with their babysitter, Madisyn – their 20 year old neighbour a few houses down from theirs. They were briskly walking home when a blackbird circled them. It startled Madisyn and she dropped her bag. As she was picking her groceries up, Phoebe swore she could see the bird's eyes glow red. Madisyn didn't know about magic though, so Phoebe didn't say anything.

When they got home, Grams and Prue were just leaving. Penny signalled 5 minutes using her hand. Madisyn nodded and shut the door behind them while Piper and Phoebe went to get a drink from the kitchen.

The blackbird flew in through an open window in the attic and knocked over an antique vase when he came down the stairs. Madisyn jumped up and got a feather duster from the cupboard. She started waving it about, trying not to hit it. She ran to the door, opened it and tried to usher the bird out. The bird sat on the stairs and, when Piper and Phoebe ran in from the kitchen, they saw that Madisyn had fainted and hit her head on a coffee table.

Piper knew something suspicious was going on, so she froze everything and grabbed a pen from a drawer. She was going to write a note but the blackbird unfroze and growled at Phoebe.

"Birds don't growl, Phoebe, run!"

The bird dug its claws into Phoebe's shoulders and she didn't dare move, so Piper scribbled something onto Madisyn's arm and lunged for the bird. As she did this, all three of them vanished into a flash of light, just as Penny and Prue walked in through the door, confused as to why it was already open.

"Grams! Madisyn's hurt!" Prue sat down next to her and saw ink on her sleeve. She pulled up Madisyn's sleeve and turned her head to read what was written on it; "Bl-…. Blar-…. Blackbird?" Penny ordered Prue to call an ambulance.

"Tell them she fainted and bumped her head, wait with her until they arrive, then go to her place and tell her mom so she can go with her. After that, I need you to help me look for something very important." Prue did as she was told.

Shock. Disbelief. Denial. Anger. Sadness. Desperation. All of those emotions ambushed Prue and Grams instantaneously. They frantically searched the manor. Pulling out draws. Throwing cushions off of the sofa. Digging through boxes in the attic. Rummaging in wardrobes. They were completely baffled and Grams was going to have to make a decision she feared may cause irreparable damage to the girls' futures. She knew that she had no choice but to jeopardise everything.

"What are we looking for?"

"A picture of your mother in a small gold frame." Grams felt a cool chill down her spine. She then heard a gentle whisper; "don't do it." She could have sworn she recognised the voice, but she refused to listen to it. "I'm doing the right thing" she muttered to herself.

"Found it!" Prue called and ran up to join Grams in the attic. She handed it to her and asked "why do you need it?"

"Prue, I'm sorry. Can you wait outside please?"

"But-"

"NOW!" Prue looked confused and upset, but left and shut the door.

Grams paced with the photo. It was a couple of minutes before she thought of a spell.

"_For the Halliwell sisters,_

_Bind all of their powers,_

_Save them from,_

_The demonic hours._

_Blur their memories,_

_Of the existence of magic,_

_Stop them experiencing,_

_Sacrifices so tragic._"

She tapped Patty's photo and pulled it to her chest. "Not my best spell…. Patty, I'm so sorry. I had to." She bowed her head. She placed the photo down and took Prue downstairs after locking the attic door.

The next morning, Prue woke up with no knowledge of what happened the night before. She felt the need to check in Piper and Phoebe's rooms but wasn't sure why. As she approached Piper's door, the handle turned and there stood Piper, rubbing her eyes.

Penny was in the attic and heard girls talking downstairs, so she finished writing her last paragraph in the Book of Shadows. It read; "Blackbird Demons take vulnerable magic creatures and return them when they strip their powers. They do not kill, but may cause harm. If the magical being loses their powers, however it may happen, the Blackbird Demons will return them safely, as they are no longer of interest to them."

Could Grams have really solved the paranormal problem with one little spell she came up with on the spot? Magic has always done whatever it wants, whether it fits in with the spell caster's plans or not. Could there be unforeseen consequences for the sisters?


End file.
